Abstract
Sialytation of plasma membrane glycoproteins is thought to be involved in the regulation of differentiation and in the process of tumorigenesis. Here we show that sialylation also affects cell-cell contact-dependent growth regulation. When cultured in the presence of non-physiological synthetic sialic acid precursors, human diploid fibroblasts no longer exhibited density-dependent inhibition of growth. Concomitantly, increased sialylation of contactinhibin, a glycoprotein involved in density-dependent inhibition of growth, was observed. These results indicate that sialidase-resistant sialic acid modifications lead to dysregulated growth control. The modifications have been induced by N-propanoyl and other N-acyl derivatives of d-mannosamine.
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